Episode 1935 (8th August 1979)
Plot On a Sunday, Ken and Deirdre return from the Lake District. The factory alarm goes off all day whilst Mike is in London. Steve is in trouble as he's left the alarm key in the factory and is locked out. Annie promises a pint of beer to whoever silences the alarm. Stan hits it with a poker, hitting the electricity supply and cutting off the entire Street's electricity as well. The lights eventually go on on the residential side of the Street but the factory continues to be without electricity. Steve worries that production on Brown's order will be affected. Ivy feels that she'd like Brian to marry in church. The next day the girls refuse to enter the factory as the electricity is still off. Vera gives Stan a kiss of gratitude for getting her a day off work. Len tells Ken to remember Deirdre is a married woman. Mike returns from London to the news that the factory is closed. Mike tracks Stan down to the Rovers where he has to restrain himself from hitting Stan. Instead he threatens to have him charged with trespass but the other residents side with Stan saying the alarm noise was unbearable. To Ivy's delight, Brian and Gail agree to marry in church. Deirdre receives a disturbing letter from Ray which causes her to break down in tears. Cast Regular cast *Hilda Ogden - Jean Alexander *Ken Barlow - William Roache *Tracy Langton - Christabel Finch *Deirdre Langton - Anne Kirkbride *Bet Lynch - Julie Goodyear *Mike Baldwin - Johnny Briggs *Emily Bishop - Eileen Derbyshire *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Suzie Birchall - Cheryl Murray *Gail Potter - Helen Worth *Brian Tilsley - Christopher Quinten *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Ivy Tilsley - Lynne Perrie *Bert Tilsley - Peter Dudley *Stan Ogden - Bernard Youens *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Steve Fisher - Lawrence Mullin *Vera Duckworth - Elizabeth Dawn Guest cast *Pianist - Frank Johns Places *Coronation Street *Rovers Return Inn - Public *3 Coronation Street - Back room *5 Coronation Street - Living room *13 Coronation Street - Back room Notes *William Tarmey appears as a non-speaking extra in the Rovers, three months before making his debut as Jack Duckworth. *No writer credit appears on this episode. *The 1979 ITV Strike spread from Thames Television in London to HTV in the West Country (whose staff were locked out at 6.00pm on 8th August) and therefore this episode was not transmitted in those two regions. Two days later, on 10th August 1979 the entire ITV network (with the exception of Channel Television in the Channel Islands) was on strike. The dispute lasted until Wednesday 24th October when programmes resumed at 5.45pm and Episode 1937 of Coronation Street was transmitted at the usual time of 7.30pm that evening. It remains the longest transmission break in the programme's history. *It has been stated previously that knowing that the strike was about to hit the rest of the country, Granada edited down Episodes 1935 and 1936 into one half-hour episode however the studio clock on the master tape and the floor manager's voice announcing the recording plainly show that the episode was two scripts edited down and purposely recorded as one half-hour instalment in a similar manner to Episode 1026 (18th November 1970). The reason for this abridgment is unknown. *''TV Times'' synopsis: Tongues begin to wag when Deirdre and Ken return from their holiday. *Due to the loss of viewers in two ITV regions, this episode failed to make the top twenty in the viewing charts. Notable dialogue Annie Walker: "How is it that anything that stops people working these days is cause for celebration?" Elsie Tanner: "Hang on a minute Mrs Walker, I'm not celebrating... I can't wait to get back over there." Annie Walker: "I'm not talking about our generation, Mrs Tanner, I'm talking about the present one. If anything can stop people earning their weekly wage, they are delighted. Absolutely delighted. Not a single thought for tomorrow. Now, how can we hope to get back to the glorious days of the British Empire when that attitude prevails? How can we? Tell me that. It should be all hands to the plough. Oh Bet, I'm just going for a little lie down before lunch." Category:1979 episodes